Blue Sky 2020: Corporate Huddle
Since 2012, CDP has held an annual end of year Blue Sky Corporate Huddle all-staff meeting. The tradition has allowed the company a pause to reflect back on the year to discuss what we did well, what we could have done better and what we foresee in the years ahead for our company.
What is the CDP Corporate Huddle? The corporate planning week begins with a Corporate Advisory Committee (CAC) 2-day retreat where the leaders of CDP gather together to discuss strategic goals and objectives that they share the following days when the entire company gathers together to talk through specific topics. The Blue Sky corporate huddle day includes breakout sessions and interactive discussion among staff members and Principals. Then, at the end of the week we gather for our annual holiday party where our significant others join us for comradery, delicious food and cocktails!
Blue Sky 2020 During COVID. As has been the case for much of our work and interaction throughout 2020, our corporate huddle was quite different this year! While our team still reflected, discussed and brainstormed on 2020 and looked ahead to the coming years, we joined together virtually this year and decided to forego our annual holiday party in hopes to keep our staff and their families safe from the spread of COVID-19. CDP is happy to report that despite all of the hurdles our company, partners and industry encountered this year, 2020 was a success and we are looking forward to what lies ahead on the horizon for our growing company.
A look back on our year…
New Hires: 8 new hires joined our CDP family. This included Dan, Houston, Abigail, Capstone Interiors (Jane and Tara), Samantha, Chrissy, and Ryan.
Addition of Capstone Interiors: CDP brought Capstone Interiors in-house and is delighted to have an interiors department led by a talented design team with nearly 10 years of experience in selecting and procuring institutional quality student housing furnishings and finishes.
Opening of the Denver Office: Late in 2019 and into early 2020, we relocated and consolidated our western region staff into a new office located in Denver, CO. Our Denver office will ultimately mirror the strength and size of our Birmingham, AL office and will focus on serving university partners in the western United States. Our management entity, Capstone Management Partners, is also located in this Denver office.
Keeping Development Projects On-Track: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, our development and construction teams were able to keep all of our projects in predevelopment progressing! Our team achieved financial close via an equity-based structure for a second partnership at San Diego State University, our teams broke ground on two new on-campus developments (Arizona State University and San Diego State University Phase II), and we were selected to partner with the University of Washington Bothell on a P3 for a new multi-use, multi-phase development for that campus. Further, we look forward to the financial close and breaking ground of at least 2 new developments in 2021 for institutions located in Portland, ME and Boca Raton, FL. Our teams also completed two construction projects, at Arizona State University-Polytechnic campus and at the University of Chicago, on time and under budget during the heat of the pandemic.
Our company could not have overcome the challenges presented in 2020 without the hard work and dedication of our entire staff, construction, design and finance partners, and college and university team members. We came together, focused on solutions, thoughtfully responded and ultimately forged ahead together; all while keeping each other safe.